Of Those Left Behind
by Hime
Summary: [Inspired by Geno Calamari's Brothers] After someone dies, there are always those left behind to clean up their mess and perhaps to mourn them as well. [Sakura centric oneshot]


_This story was inspired by Geno Calamari's Brothers. If you haven't read it, you don't really need to, but you should 'cause it rocks.

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And of Those Left Behind_

She forced herself to breathe through her nose even though she didn't want to smell his blood, as if the blood of one person smelled different from another. She didn't have to be concerned—his blood smelled just the same as any other ninja's blood, even though through his veins ran the bloodline of a once strong and proud family. His blood smelled the same as his brother's and she wanted to kick the offending body away from his, the one who had led him on this path where death and dying were the only options for him. And she wanted to cry at the sight of his body, his once beautiful body now just a corpse, now just meat, but that would contaminate the scene, it would ruin her ability to see, taste, smell; it would ruin her credibility as a medic-nin if she broke down over him now.

And she refused to let him ruin her even more then he already had.

She crouched over his body, and looked him over objectively. His pale white skin, skin that never tanned nor burned, was now black in places, charred. His death had been by fire. Did _he_ plan this, she wondered, a black thought at the brother. Was that why he used fire to kill the last, or was it some sort of irony that she would never understand? How he died surprised her; she had thought that his bloodline made him invulnerable to fire, or at the very least, the seal on his neck would protect him. Perhaps the seal had. From the neck down his body was seared, like meat on a bone. From the neck up, his face was strangely untouched. He looked happy in death, an expression his face never quite pulled off in life. It made her grief turn into a sort of rage, that he would find this sort of peace in death, in this stupid and self-destroying path that he choose to fulfill his revenge.

And yet… And yet that little bit of love she still held for him, the pureness of adoration she had felt for this beautiful and gifted boy was happy that he had at last felt that contentment before he died. That his last emotion he held, as he slipped into death, was happiness. That bastard. Perhaps he deserved that moment of happiness, considering his past, but he shouldn't have wasted his life, his potential, _himself_ just for that one brief moment. For him, everything he had done to reach this point had been worth it. She hated that he could find his release that way.

She hated his brother more.

As if he could hear her thoughts, the Anbu squad leader came to stand behind her. She knew he wanted her to go to _him_ now, to forget the lost boy who found his way back home, to make sure that the brother would never be a threat to their village again.

Standing up, she felt a wave of dizziness hit her, her head spinning from a lack of food and sleep and an abundance of grief and anger. She faltered and the Anbu behind her reached out with one hand to the middle of her back, supporting her, giving her strength. Strength enough that when she crouched over the other body, _his_ body, she didn't spit on it like she wanted too. That would be as unprofessional as crying over the brother wouldn't it? She had to be professional since she had all but forced her way on this team, this assignment, to bring closure to the village of the Hidden Leaf. Every team went out with a medic-nin, but that didn't mean she had to have been the person to go. In fact, others argued that it was best that she stay away, her involvement was already so pronounced. Who can be objective over the one you used to love and the one you hated most? And she both loved and hated Uchiha Sasuke with all of her being. Not at the same time, but both emotions welled, lived, and died within her throughout the years.

She could feel the Anbu's impatience flaring from behind her, heating his gaze. His mask hung around his neck. That was against the rules, but he had never been one to follow rules anyway. He wanted this mission over with, these memories to be done and forgotten. But that would never happen—he would never forget. The memories of the one you loved/hated so much never truly die. They just wait for you to drop your guard, rushing in to claim your attention when you smell the scent of fresh rain, when you catch a glimpse of a black-haired boy in the crowd.

Finally he spoke, "Are they both dead?"

She could feel her brow lift in disbelief. He saw the damage both bodies were in, how could he wonder? But then again these were the last of the Uchiha's…

"Yes." she said, proud that her voice came out strong and clear. She stood and this time the world stayed still for her and she was grateful for that. She did not want to accept his kindness any more then she had to. She had learned to become strong a long time ago, a lifetime ago, she did not need his support any longer. She looked down at the two brothers and finally did what she came here to do.

_'May you be happy now, wherever you are. In you next life, may you find peace sooner then in this one.'_ She prayed for him, maybe for the other as well. Her eyes went wide as the soft sound of a child's laughter danced around her for a moment. She turned quickly, eyes meeting his in question, but his were full of something else. She could feel the blood pooling into her cheeks and turned away from him.

"We should go." He said behind her and she could hear the soft amusement in his voice. With a wave signal, the other ninjas with them sprang into action, pulling the bodies away from each other, and bagging them to be taken back to Konoha.

She took a step away from the activity. Now that she had pronounced them dead, they didn't need her in the way. Soon, the bags were packed and everyone was ready to leave. She lagged after the crowd, looking at the torn field behind her. _'Goodbye Sasuke. I'm completely fine without you.'_ The sound of laughter echoed around her once more and unbidden, tears came to her eyes.

"Sakura?"

She turned and saw that he was waiting for her; everyone else was almost out of sight. Without a word he held his hand out to her and smiled. She paused for a second, staring at his hand, and felt fresh tears welling up. _'I lied. I'm not fine.'_

She took a step forward and then another, finally laying her hand on his. He gave it a brief squeeze before he turned around and started walking. She closed her eyes, felt the tears race down her face and let him lead her away. She smiled then, and squeezed his hand back. When he turned to look at her, she looked back at him with a clear steady gaze.

_'But I will be.'_

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Author's Notes:

Like I said before, this was inspired by **_Geno Calamari'_s** fantastic fanfic _Brothers_. I really like all his work actually. This is my first Naruto fanfic and if Sakura seems OOC, forgive me. I do want to point out though that she is 19 in this story and as such surely her personality would have undergone some changes. As for the Anbu squad leader, I purposely didn't name him. While I was first coming up with this story, my first thought was that, of course, it would be Naruto. But then I read the fabulous story _Bell Jars_ by **_honeyblood _**and the whole Kakashi/Sakura pairing became appealing to me as well. I also really like the Gaara/Sakura pairings as well...

Oh, and one more thing—Screw Sasuke. He's a prick. I never really liked him much to begin with, although I must say I did like how he told Sakura she was "annoying" that one time in the second episode/manga act when they first become a team. Ah well, let the fangirls have him, I'll take Naruto over him any day…

Hime  
4/8/05


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